


armin arlert smelled of . . .

by kumikomiko



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Gen, Other, a lot of comparisons between armin and the ocean, kinda very very brief spoilers of the veeerrrry end of season three, very much poetic as hell, you will probably cry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:41:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29421030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kumikomiko/pseuds/kumikomiko
Summary: o·cean/ˈōSHən/noun1. a very large expanse of sea, in particular each of the main areas into which the sea is divided geographically."the atlantic ocean"2. also known as: armin arlert“you always thought it was strange when your clothes had smelled faintly of armin arlert,”
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Reader, Armin/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	armin arlert smelled of . . .

**Author's Note:**

> i might be turning this whole scent thing into a series! lemme know what you think :>

armin arlert smelled of something indescribable, unexplainable, without a name.

it reminded you of something fresh, new, and clean, surprisingly enough in this wretched world with titans roaming within wall maria and the stench of death laying thick on the dry soil.

in a way, he was like a sanctuary, something soft, pleasant to the mind. he drifted, leaving feather light touches on your conscience as he came in close before disappearing once more, always nearby but only ever lingering until the next tide.

there was a time, way back when you and he were just children. you remembered taking his small hand in yours and pulling him along the cobbled streets to scavenge for free food or gaze in awe at the book displays.

these were the good, bright, happy times, but there were also times where the walls had enough of your innocent frolicking, and decided to douse you in the severity of everyone’s situation.

it had been maybe a day or two after armin’s grandfather had gone out on the suicide mission set in place by the king to reduce the number of mouths that had to be fed due to the famine that had washed over the walls.

it was a quiet night, you had woken up in the middle of it and felt the lack of a familiar presence that was usually tucked into bed beside you.

so, begrudgingly, you climbed out of bed and walked out of the shared room you had with armin, eren, and mikasa, your feet light and careful to not disturb the light sleepers.

you travelled down steps and past hallways, searching for a certain blue eyed boy, hoping you’d catch a glimpse of his blonde strands of hair at your next turn. it wasn’t until you opened the doors of the hostel and went out into the biting cold.

you spotted armin sitting out in the open near the road, his legs pulled up to his chest as he gazed at the moon. it only took him a second to notice you in the silent ambience, your shoes landing soft thuds onto the dirt floor.

he almost seemed horrified that you had caught him lurking about, his eyes wide and his lips quivering. however, he turned away the moment you took a step in his direction, his grown out blonde hair falling and covering his face from view like a veil.

you came closer anyway, determined to at least get him back inside the hostel and out of the chilling weather. it wasn’t until you crouched down beside him and called out his name did he show any response.

“armin?”

and then he looked at you, with eyes filled to the brim with tears and swirling with hues of blues that reminded you of the faded pictures depicting bright and clear skies with beautiful crashing waves that almost spilled out of the books armin’s parents had given him.

however, unlike the drawings of the ocean in books, armin’s waves came down at full force, dripping onto your shoulder and wetting your cotton clothes as you pulled him into as tight of a hug as a child like you could give, reassuring him in your own way, and consoling him through his distress.

you felt his small hands grip the back of your shirt as tears poured and seeped into the material of it. you never knew a child’s hold could be this strong, willing you towards him no matter how much you wanted to let go.

the moon was so bright in the sky that night, flashing its silvery blue glow down at the two of you. perhaps that was why you couldn’t bring yourself to pull away from armin.

the two of you stayed in each other’s arms until sobs turned to soft cries, and cries turned to little sniffles. you pulled away and revealed the boy whose eyes and nose were blushed red and eyes still glittered in unshed tears.

“i’m,” he hiccuped and wiped his tear stained cheeks with his sleeves, “i’m sorry. i didn’t mean to cry all over you like that. it won’t happen again,”

you scrunched your nose up at his one-sided proposal and promise. perhaps you had wanted him to come to you again when the situation called for it, when overwhelming sadness filled him with tears and when he needed someone’s shoulder to cry on.

oh, you wished that person would be you.

but you didn’t say a word of this as armin took in a deep breath, and you mimicked the action, puffs of airs coming through both of your lips, only visible due to the freezing weather.

one breath, then another, and another, armin’s hiccups had stopped and so did his sniffles, but instead of heading back inside the hostel, the two of you sat on the dirt with your sleepy gazes toward the moon.

with every breath you took, another whiff of something… strange... raw...? would hit your nose. you figured it was the boy next to you, whose eyes stayed trained on the full moon while yours flickered to his form. it definitely wasn’t unpleasant in the slightest, if anything, you were tempted to hug him again just to have the aroma linger a little longer on your clothes.

so no, perhaps those weren't the right words,

armin smelled of something _briny_ , the distinct scent of the salt that was always so rare within the walls,

and you weren’t able to name his faint yet strong aroma until time had passed.

* * *

_so much time had passed._

it was the day you all had reached the ocean.

the _ocean_ smelled so strongly of him.

the waves kissed your feet the same way his fingers grazed your cheek ever so softly, the tide pulled back just like how he always seemed to slip through your fingers again and again,

armin was the ocean, _your_ ocean,

and when the tides were low, and he’d leave once more, you’d cry out.

no matter how many times the ocean promised to come back, to place more lingering touches on your heart, your soul,

you would always long to be with your ocean as you cursed the uncontrollable tides.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry this wasn’t as long as my other one-shot >:( i’m not very good at writing really long things now that i think about it, but that’s alright! i still had a lot of fun with you, and i hope you enjoyed it just as much :>


End file.
